There was a minor stir among England's cricketers in Abu Dhabi here on Saturday when the bonnet of a taxi containing Kevin Pietersen, Stuart Broad, Jonathan Trott and Monty Panesar flew open while travelling at 100km per hour, causing no more than mild alarm and, beyond that, a disquieting foretaste of the air of suppressed hilarity that has touched upon aspects of England's one-day efforts overseas in recent times. The wheels, for now, are still on.

In fact England's efforts in ODIs have resembled not so much a car wreck as something closer to an energetic communist mini-state attempting repeatedly to wrench itself out of the dark ages. Four-year plans have been rapidly commuted; principles enshrined and then abandoned. True to form the four-match series against Pakistan, which starts on Monday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, looks like incorporating at least one significant tactical rejig.

England's first foray into 50-over cricket this year will showcase a rejigged top order designed to address head-on two separate problems: the lack of explosion at the top of the order, and the long-standing droop in the form of Pietersen, who with Alastair Cook forms a new opening partnership.

Pietersen's return at the top of the order is a reprise of the role he attempted, with some success, at the World Cup, before injury struck. It is also something approaching a final roll of the dice for a player once recognised as unquestionably England's top 50-over gun, but who has not scored an ODI hundred for three years and whose lustre as a match-winner has unquestionably dimmed.

Rather than hiding him England are shoving Pietersen right out in front and certainly he has the power and brio to attack successfully during the opening Powerplay overs. In the event he spent most of his practice time under lights in the middle on Saturday facing the left-arm spinners Panesar and Danny Briggs (it was hard to know whether to be heartened or disturbed by one sharp-spun delivery from Panesar that took Pietersen's off stump). It has been suggested Pakistan could bowl up to 40 overs of spin here, from the low-trajectory mysteries of Saeed Ajmal to the aggressive leg-breaks of the returning Shahid Afridi.

Beyond this it remains to be seen whether England will give Pietersen sufficient support as he looks to set the early tempo. Often in the past attempts at reshuffled aggression in the top order have gone off half-cocked, with the team's designated dasher surrounded by anchors: Craig Kieswetter had Cook and Trott for company in the summer. The result is freedom with strings: Pietersen can attack, but should his one-man cavalry charge fail England will be back to studied accumulation once again: without a similarly aggressive player in the top three it is only half a plan.

This perhaps disregards the progress made by Cook last summer when the new captain appeared transformed briefly against Sri Lanka, scoring at better than a run a ball at times and unfurling a new range of cross-batted shots that while by no means pleasing to the eye, proved effective in jockeying the score along. The subsequent tour of India was something of a comedown for the new-look Cook, as it was for many others, and it is in slow turning conditions overseas that his ability to feed off and complement Pietersen's natural aggression will be tested once again. Cook, like Pietersen, has much to prove in a relatively new role.

As a sub-plot Kieswetter's demotion to No6 in the order perhaps signifies the abandonment with the long-standing preoccupation with wicketkeepers taking this aggressor's role at the top of the innings, a tactic that has consistently failed. In 182 ODIs since Geraint Jones was first selected in place of Chris Read, signifying the shift from specialist keeper to those who offer something with the bat, England wicketkeepers have scored 15 half-centuries and no hundreds, while the gloves have rotated between Davies, Matt Prior, Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Paul Nixon, Phil Mustard, Tim Ambrose, Jones and Read, all but two of whom have batted up the order.

Pietersen is of course capable of batting through an innings as well as merely providing a jump-start. England will hope he is ready to move through the gears. Also likely to return to the team is Tim Bresnan, who has recovered sufficiently from an elbow injury to bowl and who completed five overs with no adverse reaction against the Lions on Friday.